Motorcyclist dies in Mangere police pursuit

The scene of a fatal crash on Buckland Rd, Mangere. Police initiated a pursuit of a motorcycle which crashed shortly after, killing the rider. Photo / Nick Reed

A woman has described seeing a police motorbike chasing another motorcyclist through Mangere moments before a fatal crash.

"We were at Caltex on Massey Rd getting petrol, and we saw a cop on the bike chasing a fella on the bike," she said.

"I saw the lights. They were speeding past and by the time we had filled up and got to Buckland Rd lights, they were putting a cordon in place."

Police have confirmed the motorcyclist was killed after crashing on Buckland Rd, near the intersection of Royton Ave, after failing to stop.

The woman, who did not want to be named, said she saw tyre marks swerving back and forth on Massey Rd heading in the direction of Buckland Rd.

"There were tire zig zags all over the road, single tyre marks...as if he was weaving in and out of traffic."

The road would have been reasonably busy at the time of the chase, she said.

When she got to the intersection of Massey and Buckland roads it was blocked by several police cars. A policeman near the crash told her the road was a crime scene and a man was dead or dying.

Police said in a statement that they had attempted to pull over a motorcyclist who was speeding on Massey Rd around 7.20pm.

"The driver failed to stop and police initiated a pursuit. Almost immediately after this the motorcyclist has crashed near the intersection with Royton Avenue," police said.

"Unfortunately the man has died at the scene."

No one else was injured in the crash.

A police spokeswoman confirmed a police motorbike had been involved in the chase.

A woman, who asked to stay anonymous, said she saw a police motorbike in pursuit of the motorcyclist while she was at the Massey Rd BP station, which is 1.2km from Buckland Rd.

"I stopped my car to let the motorcyclist and police through as the motorcyclist wasn't stopping at all," she said.

"The person was driving at an increasingly high speed - the cops were struggling to keep up. The cop on the motorbike was about five seconds behind him, then another police [vehicle] came from Vine St a few seconds behind the police motorcyclist."

Texts from her phone show the pursuit went past some time between 7.17pm and 7.20pm, she said.

Buckland Rd is now closed between Massey Rd and Ashley Ave. A local resident said earlier she could see what appeared to be a body covered in a white cloth on the road. The street was full of police cars.

Northern fire service shift manager Megan Ruru said the fire service had been called to the incident at 7.35pm. She said she was unable to comment further.

Police said the road will remain closed until 2am while the Serious Crash Unit investigates, and motorists are asked to avoid the area.

The Independent Police Conduct Authority has also been notified.